By The Star Staff
The new mayor of Ciales, Jesús Resto Rivera, who was sworn in last Friday, announced that as part of his cultural and economic development initiatives he signed an agreement with the legal entity Pleneros de la Cresta and the cultural group Acción Valerosa, in order to give new life to a historic building next to City Hall so that it can be properly enabled to open its doors as the Yerba Bruja Cultural Center.
“As we promised the people of Cialeño, we have come to work for everyone, focused on initiatives for economic and cultural development,” the mayor said. “The old Casino Español, opened in 1914, and later home to various businesses such as the Asturian Maximino Fernández hardware store, and later the jewelry and furniture store of Wincho Rodríguez, will open its doors for new projects and attractions.”
The building is currently part of the municipal heritage of the central mountain town.
Resto pointed out that the cultural entity initiative had been presented to the previous administration on July 10, 2023, and although it was approved by the municipal legislature that same year, with the support of 10 private entities and the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture (ICP), the process stalled for no apparent reason.
“This new administration came to open doors,” he said. “We already knew about the case and I gave instructions to the legal team to take action in an expeditious and responsible manner. And we have already signed the agreement.”
While the building is being fitted out, the Yerba Bruja Cultural Center will operate from the Adalberto Santiago municipal theater in accordance with the proposal submitted by the theater and approved by the municipality.
Joseph Ocasio Rivera, the town’s cultural manager, said the cultural center, now and in its eventual permanent home, “will be a place of creativity, learning and encounter.”
“Here children, young people and adults will come to share, learn and contribute,” he said. “It will benefit Ciales, but also all Puerto Ricans who come to our community in search of culture.”
Los Pleneros de la Cresta began their work in 2015, as an important vindication for the island’s native plena musical genre. A group of young people brought plena back to its acoustic format, with the traditional tempo, lyrics committed to the political and social reality of Puerto Rico.
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